THE BATTLES OF KHALKHIN-GOL

DATE: MAY 11 – SEPTEMBER 16 1939

Belligerents

Soviet Union Japan

The village of Nomonhan sat near the border in an area disputed between Mongolia, a territory of China which had broken away with Soviet support but not yet internationally recognized, and Manchukuo, which was a Japanese in northeastern China. The Japanese considered the river Khalkhin Gol the border between the two territories, while the Mongolians thought the border was 16 kilometers further east, just past Nomonhan.

On 11 May 1939, a Mongolian unit consisting of 70 to 90 men neared Nomonhan in search of grazing land for their horses, and was driven west of Khalkhin Gol by Manchukuo cavalry. Two days later, the enraged Mongolians returned with a sizeable force and occupied the Nomonhan region. The aggressive Japanese took this incident as an excuse to move into the Russian sphere of influence, and dispatched Colonel Takemitsu Yamagata and Lieutenant Colonel Yaozo Azuma into Mongolia on 14 May with two regiments from the Japanese 23rd Division. They were able to drive the Mongolian forces back across the river. Shortly after, Mongolian troops returned, and Azuma returned with his troops again, but this time, the Japanese were surrounded by Soviet and Mongolian forces. On 28 May the Japanese troops were wiped out; the Japanese lost 8 officers and 97 men killed and 1 officer and 33 men wounded, a 63% casualty rate.

Immediately after this engagement, both sides built up strength in the area. The Japanese moved 30,000 men toward the Mongolian Area, while Moscow dispatched commander Lieutenant General to lead an offensive. Zhukov arrived in the area on 5 June 1939 with armored cars, light , and aircraft. On 27 June, the Japanese 2nd Air Brigade attacked the airfield at Tamsagbulag, and both sides lost several aircraft; this attack was conducted by the Kwantung Army without approval from Tokyo, and after learning of the attack, Tokyo ordered that no further air strikes were to be launched.

Throughout the month of June 1939, small scale clashes took place between Mongolian and Manchukuo units.

At the end of June 1939, Lieutenant General Michitaro Komatsubara of the Japanese 23rd Division was given permission to attack. He planned for a two-pronged approach. One force, consisted of the 26th, 71st, 72nd Infantry Regiments, and a battalion of the 64th Infantry Regiment, marched for Baintsagan Hill and then Kawatama Bridge. Another force, consisting of the 3rd and 4th Regiments, part of the 6th Infantry Regiment, a battalion of the 28th Infantry Regiment, and a battalion of the 13th Field Regiment aimed to attack Soviet positions on the east bank of the river Khalkhin Gol and north of the Holsten River. As the northern prong crossed Khalkhin Gol and drove Soviet troops from Baintsagan Hill, Zhukov launched a counterattack with 450 tanks and armored cars without infantry support. The Soviet armored force attacked the Japanese on three sides, forcing the Japanese to fall back over the river on 5 July. Meanwhile, the Japanese southern prong, which commenced on 2 July, met stiff Soviet resistance throughout the advance; it was able to reach the Kawatama Bridge where it was supposed to make contact with the northern prong, but by 9 July, the force would be defeated by a concerted Soviet counterattack.

Over the next two weeks, the two sides continued to engage each other near the confluence of Khalkhin Gol and Holsten River, though none of the engagements were significant. During this time, while both sides were distant from their bases of supply, Zhukov effectively made use of a 2,600-truck fleet to bring food and ammunition to the front, while the Japanese lacked motored transport.

On 23-24 July 1939, Japanese artillery bombarded Soviet positions at the Kawatama Bridge, while the 64th and 72nd Infantry Regiments launched probe attacks. On 25 July, the two Regiments launched a major attack, but it too, would fail to dislodge the Soviets. The Japanese suffered over 5,000 casualties in a series of failed attacks in the Kawatama Bridge region.

While the Japanese planned for a third offensive for late August 1939, Zhukov struck first. On 20 August, 57,000 men, 498 BT-5 and BT-7 tanks, and 557 aircraft, supported by two Mongolian cavalry divisions, moved in surprise against the weakly defended Japanese front manned by only the Japanese 23rd Infantry Division reinforced by several smaller infantry units. As the Japanese were pinned down by artillery and aircraft, Soviet tanks attacked them from the flank and rear, achieving a double envelopment. On 25 August, Soviet forces linked up at Nomonhan, enveloping the 23rd Infantry Division. After failed attempts by the Japanese to break the encirclement, the 23rd Division was effectively destroyed by 31 August.

Lieutenant General Komatsubara gathered his forces for a counterattack, but he was frustrated by messages from Tokyo requesting him to hold his position. In early September, politicians of the two nations successfully negotiated an agreement, and a ceasefire was signed in Moscow on 15 September 1939. The and Japan agreed that the border between the break-away state of Mongolia and the puppet state of Manchukuo was to be at Nomonhan, which was what the Mongolians perceived as the border at the start of the conflict. The Japanese Army claimed that out of the 75,000 men committed, it had suffered 8,440 killed and 8,766 wounded in the series of engagements, but the actual number of troops killed might be in the 20 to 30 thousand range. The Soviet Union claimed that it had suffered 9,284 casualties out of the 57,000 men committed, but the Soviets might have understated the figure as well; the actual number

of casualties might be between 21,000 and 24,000. For his success, Georgy Zhukov was awarded the and was promoted to the rank of general.

This battle is known in Japan as the Nomonhan Incident, the Battle of Khalkhin Gol in the Soviet Union, and the Battle of Halhin Gol in Mongolia.

The result of the battle significantly influenced the future direction of Japanese expansion. Due to the inability to expand into Mongolia, the Japanese Army lost prestige at the Imperial General Headquarters in Tokyo. The Japanese Navy, stepping up to fill the void that the Army had once occupied, gained support for its plan to move against European holdings in the Pacific Ocean. Looking further down the road, the ceasefire at the end of this battle would slowly evolve into the basis for the 1941 Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Pact, which would free up the bulk of Soviet forces in Asia for actions in the Russo-German war.

M’44 SCENARIOS FOR THE BATTLES OF KHALKHIN-GOL

The Battles of Khalkhin-Gol includes 8 scenarios, including 1 Overlord (OL) map. These scenarios chronicle the major engagements of the campaign, and include only the best available in the Scenarios from the Front (SFTF) files section on the DoW website.

No campaign rules are included; not all M’44 players have access to the Campaign books. Instead, simply tally up the number of medals won in each scenario after playing both sides. A final medal tally table is included below.

Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) rules as well as Russian Command rules are in effect for all scenarios. BATTLES OF KHALKHIN-GOL

1. MAY 11: Battles of Khalkhin-Gol 5. AUG 01 – AUG 30: Soviet-Japanese Border War ** 2. JUL 01 – JUL 02: Japanese Assault 6. AUG 20: Soviet Counterattack ** 3. JUL 01 – JUL 04: Japanese Offensive 7. AUG 20 – SEPT 01: Khalkhin-Gol Action 2 4. JUL 02 – JUL 03: Khalkhin-Gol Action 1 8. AUG 21: Khalkhin-Gol OL

**Scenario notes: 1. Soviet-Japanese Border War: Conditions of Victory rule “closing in Japanese units” is ambiguous at best. Ignore this rule. 2. Soviet Counterattack: Hill 317 rule (Calling in Airstrikes): For as long as a unit occupies a specific terrain hex, the occupying player may play any Recon card from his hand as if it was an Air Power card. The Air Strike must target at least one hex in the section designated by the Recon 1 card played as Air Power.

There are a total of 130 medals if all scenarios are played, and 106 medals without the Overlord map.

SCENARIO (+ total medal count) P1...... P2...... 1. Battles of Khalkhin-Gol (14) 2. Japanese Assault (18) 3. Japanese Offensive (12) 4. Khalkhin-Gol Action 1 (14) 5. Soviet-Japanese Border War (18) 6. Soviet Counterattack (16) 7. Khalkhin-Gol Action 2 (14) 8. Khalkhin-Gol (OL) (24) Final Medal Tally

Acknowledgments to the authors of the scenarios that make up this campaign compilation: jdrommel Willie+Joe LooneyLlama *player260845 *player178326 *player246839

This Battles of Khalkhin-Gol campaign booklet was compiled by Semba

If you own or have access to the official Battles of Khalkhin-Gol battle map pack you may wish to combine both campaigns for a grand campaign of 16 scenarios.